Cheap Booze and Ice Cream
by Vrawr
Summary: She has more in common with the Hyuuga heiress than she originally thought.


**A/N: **I've had this half-written for awhile. I didn't know which direction I wanted it to go in. Yuri, friendship... Either way, hope you enjoy. (:

I don't own Naruto.

* * *

She doesn't know when she started to feel this way. It was slow, though, she knows that. It didn't happen over night, or even within months. It took years. It took years for her heart to feel this way; it took even longer for her to even realize what she was feeling.

It took her just a few days to confess, though. She had never been one to waste time and procrastinate. She took matters into her own hands and made sure the job was done _right. _

But this time, it wasn't done right. It didn't go as planned—or maybe it did. She didn't actually expect him to say "I love you too". She knew that he didn't love her. His eyes were fixated on someone else; on another blonde; on another girl that _wasn't her. _He would never look at her like that, and she knew it.

But it didn't stop her from telling him. He didn't look surprised—but then again, he was always so good at hiding his emotions. That _other_ girl never had any problem reading him, though. Maybe they were made for each other.

She's not as nervous as she thought she'd be. Her hands aren't sweaty, her heart isn't beating a thousand miles a minute. She's just as calm as always, but somehow—he knows exactly what she's going to say. He looks at her with something akin to pity shining in his brilliant black eyes.

She hates that look; she doesn't want his pity.

"I'm sorry," He said, and she could tell he meant it. "But you know I love Temari." Ino _does_ know. She's known for a very long time, but she doesn't care.

"But I love _you_—I think you know that, don't you? You've known for awhile; maybe even before I knew it. You were always way too smart for me, Shika." She narrows her eyes, but not in contempt. She narrows them in sadness and longing. "Is that why you love her? Is she smart, like you?"

He says nothing to her question, but she already knows the answer.

* * *

On the day of their wedding, her chest hurts. It hurts a lot, but she doesn't let it show. She puts on a smile; the same facade as always. She congratulates them, even though all she wants to do is touch him; love him; have him love _her. _She had always been too forward with Sasuke—that stupid Uchiha. She wasn't going to make the same mistake with Shikamaru.

Not that she even had much of a chance to impress him. He was a married man now. He was with Temari; the beautiful, _intelligent, _Suna kunoichi. Ino was never one to be self-conscious, but she knew that she could never compete with the dusty blonde. Especially not over Shikamaru's heart.

* * *

She drowns her sorrow in ice cream and cheap booze. She doesn't want anyone to see her, so she hides away in her apartment, watching shitty romance movies and pretending that nothing's wrong. But everything's wrong. The one man she allowed herself to love was gone. He wasn't going to come back, either.

Maybe if she wasn't so fucking _dense, _this wouldn't have happened. Maybe if she realized her feelings earlier; _told him _earlier, she would be Mrs. _fucking _Nara. But she's not. She never will be.

It takes her a few seconds to realize that the pounding isn't in her head, but at the door. For a moment, she allows herself to feel some sort of hope—maybe Shika had come to his senses?

But no.

She stares at the other girl with wide eyes. Hinata returns the look.

"... Would you like to come in?" Ino doesn't know why she offered; she doesn't want to be with anyone. She doesn't want to talk about it. Maybe it's because she knows Hinata doesn't talk much either. Maybe it's because Hinata knows what she's going through—Naruto ended up marrying Sakura, after all.

They sit in an almost comfortable silence, the only sound to be heard was the rain from outside. Ino had turned the TV off—she doesn't know why she did this. Maybe she really _does_ want to talk. Or maybe she's just sick of the noise.

"I-it didn't take as long as I thought it would," Hinata mutters after several seconds. Ino merely shoots her a questioning gaze.

"For me to get over h-him." The blonde squeezes her eyes shut.

"I realized that if I really loved him, I would want him to be happy. And if being with her made him happy, then who am I to object? After accepting that... it was easier to breathe. It was easier to go day by day, my thoughts... _not_ consumed by him."

Hinata turned to the young woman beside her. "I don't know if that made sense—I really hope it did. I don't know why I came all the way over here to tell you this, but... I don't like seeing people in pain. Especially people I consider friends."

Fighting down a sob, Ino wonders when she turned into such a crybaby.

It takes her a few moments to realize that Hinata's arms are around her. She squeezes her eyes tighter, attempting to keep the tears at bay. The dark-haired girl merely held her tighter. "You can cry," She whispers, and it's as if a weight is lifted off of Ino's shoulders.

"Thank you,"


End file.
